Dumbledore's Army, Still Recruiting!
by oboedude517
Summary: An account of the goings on at Hogwarts during the events of Deathly Hallows, from Ginny's perspective.  All canon elements included, plus my own stuff.  Lots of Neville and Luna, too!
1. Chapter 1:  Missing You

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, my name is not Joanne Rowling, etc. etc. I may copy some text from Deathly Hallows when appropriate, if so I'll denote it with the page number (US edition). Otherwise, none of the characters or environmental elements are mine (unless I decide to make up a student or a spell or something).

-------------------------------------------- 1. Missing You -------------------------------------------

"We're here! Alright everyone out - Fred and George, please don't ever do that in public again - come on Ginny get your trunk…" Arthur Weasley was busily hurrying about, making sure Ginny had all her things before they entered the King's Cross Station. Since Ron was home with a horrible case of spattergroit, or so Mrs. Weasley thought, there would only be one Weasley in Hogwarts for the first time in well over a decade.

Ginny pondered this while getting her things out of the trunk. What would it be like without any of Fred and George's antics, without Ron constantly annoying her, without Harry… She shook her head as though she were trying to get rid of an annoying insect on her nose. She would not think about Harry, not now, not with everyone around, she would wait for the privacy of a train car to let the tears flow. She had shut herself up in her room constantly since the wedding, and had always emerged, hours later, with great puffy eyes and an empty box of tissues. Mrs. Weasley had chalked it up to worry for Bill and Arthur, who were under constain from the now-corrupted Ministry for which they worked.

"Oh Ginevra, what are you doing back there?" called Fred, in a perfect imitation of Auntie Muriel. "Oh these children today, so lazy and unfocused, it's a wonder they get anything done at all, I mean really – "

"Merlin's – duck!" George screamed and threw his brother to the ground as Ginny's trunk flew over them, just brushing the top of Fred's hair. Ginny started giggling from behind the car. Fred and George were apt at recognizing Ginny's mood swings, and were always quick to provide a humorous distraction when they sensed what they called "a hairy Harry moment."

"Merlin's duck? I don't think they mention that on his Chocolate Frog card. Now be a good big brother and carry my stuff." She gave her wand a little flick and sent a second trunk soaring through the air. It stopped right in front of Fred's face, whose body was still on the ground. The twins obliged and loaded up a trolley with Ginny's things. They followed her to the pillar which housed the secret entrance to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, still smirking at her.

"You know little missy, you shouldn't even be doing magic yet, you're only sixteen and school hasn't started yet. It's a good thing Mum and Dad are off talking to Mrs. Longbottom, or you'd be in for it…" Ginny leaned casually against the pillar between Platforms Nine and Ten, and passed right through it onto Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. Her brothers appeared a second later, still berating her for her underage magic.

"Are you serious?!" Ginny let out a loud laugh. "You have no right to yell at me for rule-breaking, in fact you –" Her retort was cut short as the twins turned around and sped off, muttering something about loading her things onto the train. She turned around and saw her parents approaching. Mrs. Weasley looked confused and suspicious – Ginny suspected that she was about to be interrogated about Harry and Hermione again. Harry…she shook her head again. There would be time to cry on the train.

"Ginny, we haven't seen Mr. and Mrs. Granger anywhere, and I was hoping to have a word with them before we left." She gave her daughter a cold, calculating look. Ginny wondered again if her mother practiced Legilimency without telling anyone.

"I dunno Mum, maybe they got here early? Anyways, I should probably get on," Ginny hastily replied. She caught her father's eye and gave him a pleading look.

"Yes, Molly, Ginny's probably right. Now then, Fred and George have your things loaded, do you have your Blood Badge?"

Ginny nodded and pulled a green rectangular badge from her pocket. It read:

_Ginevra Molly Weasley  
Pure-Blood_

Ginny had only been granted Blood Status a few weeks ago. She knew that Voldemort's supporters despised families like the Weasleys, who, despite being pure-bloods, consorted with Muggles. The added fact that their entire family was friendly with "Undesirable Number One" caused them to be watched even more carefully by the Ministry. Mr. Weasley had been working for weeks and weeks trying to get his daughter the right to go to Hogwarts, and Umbridge had relented only after he and Bill agreed to extra surveillance on them at work.

She pinned the badge to her robes and hugged her brothers and parents before climbing the stairs to a large red train car. She had put on a good show of happiness, she thought. Mum may have suspected something, but it didn't matter now that Ginny was on the train. She immediately started to tear up and began to run down the corridor, looking for an empty room to sit in so she could be alone with her thoughts. After bowling headfirst into the Creevey brothers, who shouted and pointed to a piece of paper with Snape's picture on it. Ignoring them completely, she finally found an open door at the end of the car and ran in, slamming the door shut. She pointed her wand at the door handle and said, "_Colloportus._" The door magically sealed itself with a squelching sound.

Ginny fell to her knees and finally let out a choking sob, as if all of her held-back tears were trying to get out at once. She just knelt there for a few minutes, crying into her hands. She hadn't thought that it would be this hard, getting on the train without him. Every time his face appeared in her mind, he seemed to get cuter and cuter. She wondered where the three were right now, whether or not they were safe. She resigned herself to the fact that they were safe. They _had_ to be. She would not allow her mind to think otherwise. She hoped they were at Grimmauld Place, like her father had earlier suggested. How could Ron have been thick enough to walk in on their last moment alone? The feeling of Harry's soft, warm lips on hers, his fingers running slowly through her hair, was so vivid to her that she stopped crying and simply sat there, imagining his strong arms holding her close. The idea that Harry still loved her, that the kiss had meant as much to him as it had to her, provided a driving force in her mind. She would keep going on for Harry. If she kept fighting, then so would he. If she made it through safe and sound, then he would too, and they could finally be together…

A loud noise came out of nowhere, surprising Ginny so much that she fell over. She lay there, rubbing her bruised knees and searching for the source of the sound. Still in a daze from her fantasy, Ginny took awhile to realize that someone was knocking on the door with such force that things were falling out of her trunk, which was stored in the shelf above the seats. Dodging an old _Daily Prophet_ and a cracked Sneakoscope, which used to belong to Harry, she pointed her wand at the door and shouted, "_Alohomora!_" The door flew open and she was immediately thrown to the floor and crushed by a body that was slightly taller and more broad-shouldered than she was.

"Hey, get off me! _Impedimenta!_" The body on top of her was thrown up to the ceiling by the curse, where it promptly got stuck on the luggage shelf.

"Ahhh, no stop Ginny it's me! Neville! Ouch, my leg…"

"Oh, Neville, I'm so sorry, I didn't see who you were! _Wingardium Leviosa!_" She lifted Neville out of the shelf and lowered him gently down onto the seat. Ginny walked to the door and closed it again.

"Thanks. You don't have to be so aggressive, you know, I've been knocking on your door for like five minutes! What have you been doing in here, anyways?" Neville grabbed Ginny's hand and pulled her up to her feet as she hurriedly turned around and wiped her eyes on her robes. She suddenly realized that she was extremely tired – she hadn't slept more than a few hours in weeks. Neville had begun to pick up the various items strewn about the floor as she plopped down on a seat and leaned her head against the window.

"Oh, nothing, don't worry about it. You knocked a little hard though, you knocked my trunk open, as you can see," she replied sleepily.

"Sorry, but you didn't answer! Are you sure you're okay? I've heard some rumors that Ron's really sick, and Harry's on the run from the Ministry!" Neville sat down and looked at her. Ginny refused to meet his gaze, staring out the window. He didn't mean to bring up Harry, she told herself, he's just curious. It's not like people are trying to make you cry or anything, he's a good friend, she reminded herself. Ginny wondered if she any tears left in her at all. She decided not to find out.

"Well, Neville, I know I can trust you, right?" He nodded. "Okay, well Ron's not really sick. He, Harry and Hermione left together the day that Thicknesse became Minister. He's being controlled by You-Know-Who, Scrimgeour's been killed, and the Death Eaters have control of the Ministry now. That's why all this Blood Status stuff is coming about. I don't know where Harry is, but he's safe. I know it," she added quietly, as though trying to convince herself. She turned to Neville, who was staring at her, open-mouthed in shock.

"Whoa, the Ministry, I mean it was fishy when Scrimgeour resigned, but I never thought…wow," he mouthed in awe. "I guess that explains this though." He unfolded a copy of today's _Daily Prophet_ and laid it on her lap. The headline read:

SEVERUS SNAPE CONFIRMED AS HOGWARTS HEADMASTER (225)

"WHAT! I can't believe this!" Ginny snatched up the paper and scanned the article. "Alecto and Amycus Carrow…aren't they those two Death Eaters who attacked Hogwarts last year? I remember, Alecto almost killed me!" Ginny stared with disgust at the pictures of the two siblings, who were looking around their frames with looks of sheer contempt.

"I know," Neville replied. "I remember them too. If You-Know-Who is behind all this, then you can bet – huh?" Neville was interrupted by loud shouts coming from the hallway. "What's going on out there?"

The two opened the door and peered into the hall. A few doors down, they saw a group of laughing third year boys pointing at someone Ginny recognized…

"Luna!" Ginny snapped awake and ran down the hall to protect her friend, past doors that were opening up to see what the commotion was. "What are you idiots doing to her?"

"You mean Loony over there?"

"That freak tried to sell us on some other crackpot theory of hers."

"Just look at her, is she wearing butterbeer corks? Haha!"

This proved to be too much for Ginny. The combined weight of her depression, her anger at Snape and the injustice of the kids tormenting Luna was all thrown into a single spell.

"_Mucouso!_"

The spell hit the laughing boy right in the chest. He flew into a nearby open doorway and out of sight. The other kids scattered down the hall, but Ginny's hex wasn't finished yet. A hard flapping sound erupted from the direction of the boy on the ground, and the kids who were now coming out to watch the action dove back in their rooms as the hall was filled with a dozen giant bats. They were light green in color and had a wingspan of well over a foot. They hovered over Ginny's head, dripping with what was unmistakably bogies. Ginny pointed her wand at the terrified group of kids and said, in a voice that was nearly shaking in rage, "Get them."

At her command the bats soared towards the kids and attacked them in a frenzy of screams and flying bogies. Ginny did not turn away or dispel the bats until the boys were all screaming, "Okay okay, ahh stop! We're sorry we're sorry, we won't ever bother her! Get 'em off us, please!" Finally Ginny waved her wand and the bats disappeared. The other kids poked their heads out again, now that it was safe. Ginny recognized the fearful eyes of the Creevey brothers peeking out of a door on her right. She glanced at them with such ferocity in her eyes that they both squeaked and slammed their door shut. Ginny took a few steps down the hall and turned her wand to each curious head in turn.

"Does anyone else feel like laughing?" Ginny was starting to calm down, but the older students knew her and her legendary Bat-Bogey Hexes too well to say anything. Ginny finally lowered her wand and turned towards Neville, who was walking down the hall towards her, carefully avoiding puddles of bogies.

"Fat lot of help you were, Neville."

"Hey, you looked like you had the whole thing handled pretty well. I mean, blimey, I don't think those kids will ever be the same." Neville paused to let the boy who Ginny had originally hit with the hex run by. He ran into the next car with the dazed look of someone who had just come to after fainting. Ginny smirked as he tripped running out the door, and turned towards the opposite end, where a girl with long blonde hair was leaning against the wall, staring up at the ceiling with a dreamy look in her silvery eyes. She was wearing a necklace of butterbeer corks over a slightly worn set of robes. She turned to Ginny and smiled.

"Thank you for helping, Ginny, I think we drove out the Phlagomirs that were plaguing those poor little boys."


	2. Chapter 2:  The Fight Begins

-------------------------------------------2. The Fight Begins-----------------------------------------

"Phlago-what?" Neville looked thoroughly confused as the three headed back to Ginny's compartment. Ginny merely smiled. Her opinion of Luna had changed dramatically over the course of only a few years. She always knew that underneath Luna's quirky personality lay a kind and loving friend. After witnessing Luna battling Death Eaters with the rest of them at the Department of Mysteries, and again inside Hogwarts last year, Ginny had concluded that there was a lot more to her than meets the eye. She was glad to have her as a friend.

"Phlagomirs," Luna continued. "They're very small and enjoy living in the hair of rebellious boys. I wouldn't be surprised if you have some, Neville." She stared intently at Neville's long brown hair as they took seats inside the compartment. Without taking her eyes off of Neville's hair, she sat down and took out a copy of her father's magazine, _The Quibbler_, and her wand. "Don't move," she said to Neville, "I'll get them out for you!"

"Now wait a second, Luna, what are you doing with that wand? Yikes!" Neville ducked as Luna smiled and flicked her wand at Neville's hair. Her spell flew through air where Neville's head had been only seconds before, rebounded off the wall, and hit Ginny's trunk, which promptly turned a violent shade of pink. Ginny, who had taken to staring out the window again, was brought back to reality.

"What the hell is going on? Why is my trunk pink now? And Neville, why are you on the floor?"

"Don't look at me, Luna's trying to kill me!" Neville shot a fearful glance at Luna, who was scrutinizing the pink trunk with a very serious stare.

"Hmm, I believe that your trunk is safe. However, the Phlagomirs in your hair seem to be much worse than I thought. Maybe another Bat-Bogey hex is in order, Ginny," Luna remarked. Neville looked from Luna to Ginny, silently pleading not to suffer an attack from bogey bats. Ginny, however, had other things on her mind.

"Don't worry Neville, I'm sure the, er, Phlagomirs, will, umm, go away naturally." She looked at Luna, who gave Neville one last glance before putting her wand down and picking up the copy of _The Quibbler_. "All right then," Ginny continued, "we have to do something about Snape and the Carrows! It's up to us, now that H-Harry has left." Her eyes became watery, but she blinked them away and continued. "With You-Know-Who in control, who knows what horrible things they'll do to us at school? I say we form a plan to fight back!"

"Are you saying what I think you're saying, Ginny?" Neville sat down next to Luna and looked hard at Ginny. "Do you want to start up Dumbledore's Army again?"

"Yes! We three can get everyone back, we can set up the Room of Requirement again, just like old times! What do you think, Luna?" They both turned toward Luna, who was deeply engrossed in reading an article in _The Quibbler_. She lowered the magazine just enough so that they could see her eyes pop up above the top of it.

"You two would make good leaders," she said happily. "You're always helping other people. I would like to be a part of your army, but I don't think people would take me seriously as a leader. After all, I am a sort of laughingstock among most people," she added. Since the threat of the Phlagomirs was over, Luna had lost her serious demeanor and her voice had regained a light, airy quality. Ginny and Neville looked at her with a mixture of pity and affection. Luna had a knack for speaking uncomfortable truths, and she rarely showed an instance of sadness or anger despite the many hardships she had to go through on a daily basis.

The three discussed tactics and potential members for Dumbledore's Army as the scarlet Hogwarts Express pulled into Hogsmeade Station. Ginny felt much happier now that she had a goal to distract her from her own thoughts. The reforming of Dumbledore's Army was just the kind of thing she needed to fulfill her need to fight back. She left the train car with an excited little jump, but at the sight that met her she leaped back up in shock and fear and knocked Luna into Neville, who all promptly fell in a heap on the stairs.

"What are those things pulling the carriages? They're hideous!" Ginny stared at a large black horse tied to the nearest carriage. At least, she thought it was a horse. It was black and skeletal in appearance, with blank eyes and long, leathery wings.

"Why, they're thestrals, of course," replied Luna, still stuck on the stairs, as Ginny hadn't gotten up yet. "You can see them now because you've witnessed death."

Neville piped up, his voice slightly muffled from the weight of two bodies on top of him. "Ooof…Yeah, remember that Death Eater, Gibbon? He was killed by that other huge guy last year. Now, can you both get off me please? People are waiting to get off." There was indeed a line forming behind them, grumbling and complaining for them to get out of the way.

"Yeah, I remember. Harry told me about them last year," Ginny pointed out. This time, she was prepared for the tears, and she quickly got up and hurried off to secure a carriage for the three of them. By the time Neville and Luna had climbed into the carriage after her, she had successfully gotten Harry off her mind.

Neville got in last, closed the door and turned to the girls. "So, what classes are you two taking this year? How'd your O.W.L.s go?"

Ginny answered first. "Well, er, I ended up with three. I would have gotten more, but I was a bit, um, distracted. I'm in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms and Potions." Neville raised his eyebrows at this comment, but said nothing. Ginny secretly hoped that he just chalked it up to the Death Eater attack and had not known about those many nights she spent out on the grounds with Harry. Ginny glanced at Luna and said, "What about you?"

Luna, who had been staring out the window, turned slowly and replied, "I will take the same subjects as you, Ginny, although I think I'll keep Muggle Studies. Muggle artifacts are fascinating, it's a wonder they don't have swarms of nargles inside their houses from their lack of proper deterrents." She giggled softly and turned back to the window. Neville stifled his laughter by covering his face with his hands. Ginny was reminded strongly of Ron and rolled her eyes.

They discussed their classes as the carriage stopped in front of the entrance to Hogwarts. Since they had caused a pileup in the train car earlier, their carriage was one of the last to arrive. When they entered the Great Hall, the Sorting was already nearly over. Neville and Ginny said goodbye to Luna, who wistfully skipped over to the Ravenclaw table, amidst scattered smirks and laughter. Ginny silenced them with a glare and she and Neville sat at the Gryffindor table, next to Seamus, who was sitting alone.

"Hey Seamus," greeted Neville. Seamus grunted a greeting. "This table looks awfully empty." Ginny looked down the table and had to agree with Neville; there were quite a few empty seats, not just at the Gryffindor table, but at the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables as well.

"That damn Blood Status rule kicked out a lot of kids," said Seamus angrily. "Dean was denied. He's on the run now from those bloody Snatchers."

"Oh my gosh, Seamus, we're so sorry! This means that it's only us in the dorm now."

"Wait what? Why?"

Neville caught Ginny's eye, who nodded to indicate that Seamus was trustworthy. "Well, Seamus, you know Harry couldn't be here, him being 'Undesirable Number One' and all. So apparently he's on the run too, and Ron and Hermione went with him. I guess it's just you and me on our side, I wonder if the girls are still here?"

Seamus opened his mouth to speak, but it was Parvati who answered from behind Neville. "Yeah, we're all still here, besides Hermione of course." Parvati, her twin sister Padma, and Lavender Brown had heard their conversation and walked over to join in.

"Hey, everyone, listen up for a second," Neville said quietly. Parvati, Padma, Lavender and Seamus all leaned in to hear him. "You've all heard about this Snape and the Carrows business, right? Well, we figure with Harry gone, it's up to us to keep fighting. We can't just lay down and let these Death Eaters overrun the school! We're reinstating Dumbledore's Army – you in?"

Ginny expected everyone to be shocked at this sudden assertiveness in the normally quiet Neville, but to her own surprise, they all nodded vigorously. Padma said, "Nice one, Neville. We were talking about it on the train, but neither of us really want the leader position. We support you all the way, though!" The Patil twins nodded in unison.

"Alright," Ginny jumped in, "then we need more members, especially in other houses. If you all have your old contact Galleons, then we should start recruiting immediately. I've already talked to Luna, so she and Padma can start recruiting in Ravenclaw. Someone should go talk to Ernie Macmillan, he was in it last time and he can recruit in Hufflepuff for us. Either Neville or I will give you a message in a week or so, and we can set up a meeting." Lavender and Parvati nodded and left towards the Hufflepuff crowd.

"Blimey," Seamus remarked, "you guys make a good team. Let's hope it's all worth it."

Ginny was suddenly reminded of Harry, and she wondered what he would do in her shoes. She did not tear up this time. She knew that the time for weakness had passed, that shedding more tears would not help to protect her from danger. She gazed long and hard at Neville, who nodded solemnly, then to Seamus, who looked at her expectantly, waiting for her response. Finally, she turned her gaze up to Snape, who was speaking to the student body about Muggle Studies being required for all students, and her eyes narrowed in suspicion and anger. She privately steeled herself to the dangers she would have to endure, and she replied, "Don't you worry, Seamus. We'll make Voldemort regret ever trespassing into Dumbledore's house."


	3. Chapter 3:  Badges and Badgers

------------------------------------3. Badges and Badgers--------------------------------------------

Ginny and Neville entered the Gryffindor Common Room that night with a strong sense of accomplishment. Classes hadn't even started yet, and they were already prepping to fight! Neville and Seamus said "goodnight" to Ginny and climbed the stairs to their dormitory, sidestepping a group of energetic first years who were racing around the common room. Ginny went up to her own dormitory alone, unsure of exactly how many people in her year had gotten Blood Status. She opened the door to a completely empty room. "Where in the world," she wondered aloud, "could they be?" She sat down on her usual four-poster, which sat next to a window overlooking the Quidditch pitch, and unpacked her things, waiting for someone else in her year to come in. After a half hour of waiting, however, she was starting to think that she really was all alone in her own dorm. She put on a pair of pink pajamas and willed herself to go to sleep, putting everything on her mind on hold until the next morning.

As Ginny left the portrait hole the next morning to go to breakfast, she had so much on her mind that she ran right into Professor McGonagall, who was standing in the hallway outside. "Oh, I'm sorry, Professor! I wasn't paying attention!"

"Evidently not," she remarked. "However, I was waiting for you all the same. Come with me to my office."

Ginny stared at her for a second before silently following Professor McGonagall to up the stairs to her office. How could she be in trouble before classes even started? Did those little brats on the train report her? Or maybe…Ginny looked nervously at the back of Professor McGonagall's head. "She wants to interrogate me about Harry," she thought. "Could she have been Imperiused? What am I going to do?" Ginny stepped into her office gingerly and tried to look innocent. However, McGonagall was not fooled.

"Calm down, Ginny, you're not in trouble. Not yet, at least," she added, with a look of concern. Ginny stared at her curiously before sitting in a chair next to Professor McGonagall's desk.

"Now, it has come to my attention that your brother has taken ill and is being withheld from school at the moment." Ginny nodded, her worst fears confirmed. "I also realize that Mr. Potter and Ms. Granger would not be here anyway, but the disappearance of all three at once is most suspicious." Ginny nodded again, slower this time. She surreptitiously put her hand into the pocket of her robes, searching for her wand. Ginny sincerely hoped that Professor McGonagall was not acting under the influence of the Imperius Curse, but all the same, she was prepared to fight her way out, if it came to that.

"I have brought you here to warn you, Ms. Weasley, that if these disappearances did not get past my watch, they will certainly not get past Severus Snape's. You would do well to be on your guard around these Carrows –"

"They're Death Eaters, I know," Ginny cut in.

"Do not interrupt me Ms. Weasley. You are quite right, though. Severus will issue a new decree today declaring that Alecto and Amycus will be responsible for all school punishments, and you can rest assured that they will be delighted to accept the responsibility. As I remember telling Mr. Potter a few years ago, you have to watch your step around these new teachers. The other Professors have agreed to send as few students to the Carrows as possible, but we alone cannot declare open rebellion against known supporters of You-Know-Who! Do you understand, Ms. Weasley?" Professor McGonagall walked around the desk and stared hard at Ginny, who had let go of her wand and stood up too. She was confident now that Professor McGonagall was quite herself.

"Of course, Professor, I understand." She wanted to say more, but thought it might be better to leave things unsaid. Professor McGonagall seemed to understand, as she raised her eyebrows slightly at this, but she said nothing more. Ginny turned to leave, but McGonagall stopped her.

"Just a minute, I am not done yet." Ginny turned around to face her. "I wonder if you've realized that since you are the only female Gryffindor in your year, you are the default choice for prefect?" Ginny could not hide her surprise; she had completely forgotten about it. "Hmm, apparently not. Well, Severus has also issued a decree removing the status from all prefects and the Head Boy and Girl. This was done to allow the Carrows more room for discipline." Ginny didn't find this very upsetting, as she never really wanted the extra responsibilities associated with becoming a prefect. She had listened to Ron complain about it far too much, and it was a sure bet that Fred and George would make her life miserable if she became the fourth Weasley prefect out of seven.

"However, it seems that our Quidditch captain now has a ten-thousand Galleon price on his head. In lieu of him returning, which I find rather unlikely," she said with a slight smile, "I am bestowing the position onto you." She turned to her desk and grabbed a red badge with a snitch emblazoned on the center, which she handed to Ginny. This was another shock; Ginny had completely forgotten about the fact that half the Quidditch team had graduated or gone on the run.

"Wow, thanks Professor! You'd think that kind of thing would have been outlawed by now, though." Ginny took the badge, staring at in awe. Harry had owned this badge, just last year…

"Yes, well maybe they enjoy the prospect of injury and death too much to ban it. Your first match isn't for another two months, so you may conduct tryouts at your leisure. One last thing," she told Ginny, who had turned to leave again.

"I realize that it must be hard to live in a dormitory by yourself. Therefore, I am giving you the chance to move in and live with the seventh years. Ms. Patil and Ms. Brown have already agreed, as I'm sure it is a bit lonely with only two in their dormitory. What do you think?"

Ginny's jaw dropped. All of these surprises finally proved to be too much for her already fragile emotions. She slumped back into the chair and started to cry. For nearly two full minutes she sat there, sobbing into her hands, thinking of Harry and her new badge, of all the empty beds in the dormitories, of the Carrows and their promise of torture and punishment. As Ginny's tears began to wane, she gradually noticed that her head was resting on Professor McGonagall's shoulder, and she had her arms around her. Ginny was astounded; she had never seen this side of the usually stern teacher.

"It's all right, dear. Just let it all out. This is hard for everyone, but you mustn't give up. We've all got to keep fighting."

"Y-Yes," choked Ginny, "its up to u-u-us now."

She wiped her eyes on her sleeves, said goodbye to Professor McGonagall, and left the office to go to breakfast. Along the way, Ginny noticed a large group of students grouped around the hall that led to the Hufflepuff common room. She pushed herself through the crowd to the front to see what the commotion was, just as a familiar female voice yelled, "Take that, pretty boy!"

Pansy Parkinson, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle stood surrounding a boy and two girls who looked like they just left the Hufflepuff common room. The one who Pansy had just hit with a curse, Ernie Macmillan, lay unconscious on the floor. The two girls, Hannah Abbott and Susan Bones, were pinned against the wall with frightened looks on their faces. Hannah was bleeding from a wound in her temple, and Susan was clutching what looked like a broken arm.

"I think a little more will teach you, you lousy stinking blood traitors!" Pansy advanced on the girls, her wand pointed straight at Hannah's heart. Crabbe and Goyle followed her movements, their wands pointed at Susan.

"We're as pureblood as you are! How else do you think we got here?" Hannah bent down to check Ernie, who had not come to yet.

"As far as we're concerned, your kind are worse than Mudbloods! _Crucio!_"

Ginny had had enough. She leaped out of the crowd and yelled "_Protego!_" just as a number of other voices yelled out in anger and stepped out of the crowd. Ginny turned and saw Neville, Seamus, and three more former D.A. members: Terry Boot, Michael Corner and Anthony Goldstein, all with wands pointed at the three Slytherins. Ginny's Shield Charm had settled around Hannah, Susan and Ernie, protecting them from Pansy's Unforgiveable Curse.

"We won't let you do this to anyone anymore! Just walk away now, and we won't do anything more!" Neville's voice carried a commanding tone, and the others began to take formation behind him. Ginny saw Luna skip out of the crowd and join them, looking as if she jumped out of the crowd by accident, but with her wand out and pointed at Crabbe nonetheless.

Pansy spun around. She had lost a lot of her swagger now that she was outnumbered two to one, but she kept her wand up. Crabbe and Goyle were looking very scared, and were slowly backing up into the crowd. The eight-person army slowly advanced on the three, until they finally turned tail and sprinted away.

"Damn you filthy blood traitors! This isn't over! _Reducto!_" Pansy aimed one last curse over her shoulder at the wall behind the three Hufflepuffs, which exploded in a cloud of dust and rocks. Susan and Hannah screamed as they were buried in rubble, too injured to use magic. Ginny and Luna were the quickest to react; Luna calmly shouted, "_Wingardium Leviosa!_" at the pile of rubble on top of them while Ginny ran forward, dispelled her Shield Charm and ran to help the girls up. By now the rest of the students had scattered, fearing the wrath of Pansy and her gang, and Ginny could see Professors Sprout and McGonagall running up the hallway, followed closely by a stout little woman Ginny had last seen behind a Death Eater's mask: Alecto Carrow. When they arrived, Ginny and Luna were supporting Susan and Hannah, the three Ravenclaw boys were attempting to revive Ernie, and Neville and Seamus were cleaning up the rubble. Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle were long gone.

"Students misbehaving! Time for some discipline, children!" Alecto had taken her wand out and had a gleeful look on her face.

"What in the world is going on here? What have you done to my students?" Professor Sprout ran to Ernie, shoving Terry, Anthony, and Michael out of her way. Ernie was finally conscious, but he was a bit dazed and he seemed to forget where he was.

"Whasgoinon," mumbled Ernie as Professor Sprout conjured three stretchers out of nowhere. She, Ginny and Luna carefully placed the three students on the stretchers, and with a flick of her wand, Professor Sprout sent the stretchers floating down the hallway.

"Wait! Don't take us yet!" Susan, still clutching her broken arm, sat up on the stretcher. "They helped us! Don't punish them, punish Pansy Parkinson!"

"Ms. Parkinson? I don't see her anywhere around here," commented Professor McGonagall. She caught Ginny's eye as if trying to tell her, "_This is exactly what I was talking about."_ She looked around coldly and said, "Somebody explain, now."

Susan, Hannah, Neville and Seamus all started speaking at once. Alecto pointed her wand at Susan and shrieked, "_Silencio!_" Susan continued to move her mouth, but no sound came out. The other students stared in shock as Alecto turned her wand on Hannah and Seamus and did the same. "You, Longbottom, what you have done to these girls? Tell the truth, or I'll have to take you back to my office! Hmm, I think my dear brother would like to see this!" She flicked her wand, and a little paper airplane flew out of it and zoomed down the hallway.

The other teachers were incensed. "How dare you use Silencing Charms on two of my students! This is totally uncalled for!" Professor Sprout muttered the countercurse at Hannah and Susan while Professor McGonagall did Seamus before rounding on Alecto. "This is a flagrant violation of school rules!"

"Oh, shut up, Minerva, I'm just having a little fun! Plus I'm allowed to do this you know, Snapie says! Now, Longbottom, explain!"

"Well," Neville began, "Ernie, Hannah and Susan were walking down the hall when Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle showed up. Pansy bumped into Ernie and thought he did it on purpose, so she tried cursing him. Crabbe and Goyle joined in, Hannah and Susan tried to defend themselves but Pansy was using the Cruciatus Curse! Ginny showed up and shielded the three of them while I told them to stop. Everyone else," he said as he gestured to the rest of them, "came to help once Pansy started using Unforgiveable Curses."

"Bah! A likely story!" Amycus had arrived and was surveying Neville with a look of utter loathing. "He's lying, I bet he decided to jinx the boy out of jealousy! That one looks a spot better than Longbottom, he's probably smarter too! Is that it boy? Come on, answer! _Impedimenta!_" Neville was blasted off his feet and slammed into the adjacent wall. He got up slowly and pointed his wand at Amycus with a look of sheer anger. He opened his mouth to utter a spell but Ginny jumped in between them, hoping to save Neville from punishment.

"Stop it, don't hurt him! Don't do it, Neville, they'll just hurt you more," she added in a whisper.

Alecto walked up beside her brother. "What's this, Longbottom, your girlfriend's come to save you? Haha, little boy can't even defend himself! Alright, then, you'll share the punishment! _Stupefy!_" Ginny felt the red bolt of light hit her in the chest. She skidded across the floor and landed beside Neville, who caught her from smashing against the wall. The last thing she remembered was McGonagall and Sprout hurrying the other kids away as she slid into unconsciousness.


	4. Chapter 4:  Flight to the Fruit

-------------------------------------------4. Flight to the Fruit---------------------------------------

Ginny was flying. She could feel the breeze whipping past her as she soared higher and higher on her broomstick. Was she playing Quidditch? She couldn't remember a thing. She looked around and saw a number of other people beside her, flying without brooms! She stared in shock as the people flew in toward her. They were not normal, either: they had leathery green skin, and were getting larger and larger. Dragons! They had transformed into dragons, and were snapping their long jaws in hungry anticipation. She looked down at her broom, but it wasn't there. She was riding a great red dragon! It turned to face her, its yellow teeth dripping with blood and saliva. The dragon said to her, "Wake up, Ginny!" This seemed odd – could dragons talk? "C'mon Ginny, please wake up," the dragon pleaded. She felt everything going hazy and fading out as she slowly slipped away from the sky and the dragons…

Ginny opened her eyes. She was in a dark room. The air felt damp and old; she must be in some sort of underground chamber. She found the door with her eyes, which was open a bit and letting a slit of light through. It hurt her eyes, so she turned away. She tried to walk, but her legs ached so much she couldn't move them. After a few more seconds, she realized that her arms were tied to large shackles that reached up to the low ceiling. She looked like a giant human Y. Her eyes were getting used to the light; she could see a number of desks in front of her, along with a larger one right next to her. After a few more seconds she realized that someone was talking to her.

"Ginny, wake up! Please, wake up!" The voice sounded tired and strained. The person talking must have been doing so for quite awhile.

"I…I am awake." Ginny's head hurt from talking. Her arms ached, too. "What's going on?"

"Ginny! Oh thank goodness, I've been trying to wake you for hours now!"

"Wait a second…Neville?"

"Yes, it's me! I'm over here!" A movement on the other side of the large desk caught Ginny's eye. She turned as far as possible to her left and saw a pudgy hand waving at her. It was chained to the wall in the same manner as hers.

"What's going on? Why are we chained up?"

"Well, after Alecto Stunned you, Amycus took us both down to this place. It's his classroom; he teaches Defense against the Dark Arts here. We've been chained here for hours now; everyone's at dinner." Neville was interrupted by a sudden fit of coughing. Ginny's memory was starting to come back: she remembered the brief fight with the Slytherins, the injured Hufflepuff students, and the intervention of the Carrows. She struggled against the chains, but her arms were weak and numb from blood loss. Neville's coughing had stopped. He cleared his throat and said, "Sorry about that, just a bit of blood there."

"_Blood?_ Why are you coughing up blood?"

"Well…" Neville seemed reluctant to answer. Ginny pressed on, though. "What is it, Neville?"

"Well, Amycus kind of used me for his classes."

Ginny felt a sinking sensation in her stomach. "What…what do you mean?"

"You know how he's supposed to teach _Defense_ against the Dark Arts? Well, it turns out he just teaches the Dark Arts. He was teaching some third years how to use the Cruciatus Curse, and they all had to practice it…on me."

"Oh, Neville, I'm so sorry…Why did they do it? Why didn't they refuse?"

"Well, it was either them or me. You can't blame them, they were young and scared."

"Yeah, but still…Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm a bit better now, I've been given a break, since everyone's in the Great Hall, eating. I suspect that afterwards he'll come back here. Since you're awake, he'll want to do you, too. He didn't bother while you were unconscious."

"Couldn't he have just used 'Ennervate' to revive me?"

"Yeah, he tried, but it didn't work. I guess you were knocked out first from hitting that wall rather than the curse."

"Well whatever the case, we've got to get out of here!"

"I know, I've been trying! Without a wand, though, these chains are impossible to get off." He rattled the chains again, but they wouldn't give. Ginny looked around in desperation. How were they going to get out of this?

"Don't any students walk down this way? Maybe we can yell out to someone," said Ginny. Her voice lacked any conviction, though. She figured that they were deep in the school dungeons, where kids rarely came after class hours.

"Lately, I've been hearing footsteps, only they're pretty faint. They must be down the hall a bit. I don't really know why – oh, there they are again!" Neville stopped talking as he and Ginny could hear the faint tapping of feet on stone. She heard voices speaking in hushed whispers. The frequency of the taps increased; the students were running.

"Should we yell to them?" Ginny whispered.

"No, we shouldn't risk it. The Carrows could be with them."

The tapping stopped, but the voices grew louder. She could hear them distinctly, as if they were just outside the classroom door.

"Luna, keep watch. We'll go and get them." Ginny's heart leapt as she heard the voice of Ernie Macmillan from outside the door.

"Ernie, it's us! We're in here!" she yelled. Neville gave a cry of joy and said, "Thank Merlin! We're saved!"

"Well, of course you're in here. That's why we're saving you!" Luna poked her head in the door and smiled happily. Ernie opened the door and held up three glowing wands. Susan Bones followed him in, holding hers aloft as well. Ginny recognized her own wand, the middle of the three in Ernie's hand.

"Our wands? How…"

"Not now! They could be back from dinner any minute!" Ernie threw Neville his wand, who promptly pointed it at his own chains and shouted, "_Reducto!_" The chains shattered, showering Neville with dust as he fell to his knees. At the same time, Ernie handed Ginny her own wand, who did the same. Her arms felt numb from lack of blood flow, and she lay there for a moment gasping in pain as she felt blood return to her extremities. Ernie and Susan stood in front of Amycus' desk, watching them anxiously. "Guys, we should be going, now," said Ernie, with a hint of urgency. Suddenly, a silvery hare bounded into the room.

"That's Luna's warning! Someone's coming!" Ernie and Susan grabbed Neville and Ginny by their arms and shot out the door. Susan threw Ginny's arm over her shoulder, since her legs had not fully regained their strength yet, and ran down the hall after Ernie and Neville. Luna appeared out of an adjacent hallway and followed them. Ginny could hear distant voices behind her. One said, "Nothing like dinner and a show, eh, sister?" with a laugh.

"We're never going to make it around the corner before they see us!" whispered Neville. He stopped and turned around. "You guys go on without me, I'll slow them down."

"Neville! What are you doing?" Ernie stopped and stared at him.

"I think he's going to go fight them," Luna replied in a manner-of-fact tone. "I'll go with you, Neville!" She sprinted down the hall as Neville tried to grab her arm.

"Wait! Luna, I don't want anyone to else to get hurt!" shouted Neville, but Luna was already halfway down the hall. "The rest of you, get out of here! Now!" Neville ran down the hall after Luna. Ernie started after him, but Susan desperately yelled, "Please, Ernie, let's go!" She turned and started running again, Ginny still leaning on her arm. Ernie gave one last look at Neville before following Susan down the hall and around the corner.

"Where do we go?" Ginny said to no one in particular.

"Our common room, it's close by," replied Ernie. Susan nodded in agreement. Ginny could hear shouting as a red light filled the hall they had just left. She felt the sinking sensation in her stomach again. If only she was strong enough, she could have helped them…

Susan stopped at a still-life painting of a bowl of fruit. Ginny noticed the yellow table and curtains in the painting before a slow, masculine voice said, "Password?"

"_Caveat Emptor,_" gasped Susan. The painting swung open, and the three climbed inside. After checking to see if Susan and Ginny were unhurt, Ernie said, "I'm going back for them. Wait here," before jumping back out of the portrait hole. Ginny tried to grab him, but he was too fast. Susan slammed the portrait shut and fell on the ground, breathing very heavily. Ginny, who had finally gotten her strength back, jumped up and made to leave. She opened the portrait and stepped out, catching a glimpse of Ernie's robes as he rushed down a staircase ahead of her. She ran after him, but a second later Ernie reappeared at the top of the stairs, running for his life. When he saw Ginny he shrieked, "They're coming! Run, back to the portrait!"

Ginny turned and ran back inside, followed closely by Ernie and, she saw, Neville and Luna, who were fast on Ernie's heels. Neville's face was obscured up to his eyes by a ripped piece of cloth tied around his head, and Luna appeared to have an upside-down fishbowl on her head. Her face was heavily obscured by the Bubble-Head Charm, so that the only discernible thing Ginny could see was her long blonde hair. They all ran into the portrait hole as Ernie slammed it shut behind them.

"Where'd they go? Where are the little bastards? I'll kill them!" Alecto's voice could be heard just outside the portrait; apparently, she hadn't seen them disappear behind it. Alecto let a shriek of rage before continuing down the hall.

"Now, now, they can't have gone far," said a quiet voice. Ginny's eyes dilated in fear. She didn't think Snape would be here as well. Did the headmaster have access to each of the common rooms?

"I'll kill them! They rescued the brats in the dungeon and tried to fight us! I want revenge!" Alecto appeared to be standing just outside the portrait, screaming at Snape.

Ernie gently grabbed Ginny's arms as he tried to pull her away from the portrait hole, but she would not budge.

"All right, Alecto, I understand the circumstances completely. You should station a guard outside the Gryffindor common room, as it is the most likely place to catch them. However, don't make too much of a ruckus, you don't want the entire school to know that you were beaten by two teenagers." Ginny heard Snape's footsteps as he walked away. A minute later, she heard another set of footsteps as Alecto ran down the hall, snarling in anger and frustration.

Ginny let out a sigh of relief. At last, they were safe. She finally turned away from the back of the fruit portrait and got her first glimpse of the Hufflepuff common room. The room was circular, with many squishy, yellow armchairs scattered in groups of three or four. Light yellow curtains dangled from the windows, and the light passing through them gave the room a candle-like warmth, aided by the roaring fireplace. Ginny could see a number of small tunnels leading to perfectly round doors, which must lead to the dormitories, she thought. Overall, the room gave an aura of friendliness and contentment. There were no students around; Ginny suspected that they were all probably still at dinner. Susan, Ernie, Luna and Neville had collapsed into the four closest armchairs, sweating copiously. Luna was still sporting her Bubble-Head Charm. Ginny pulled up a chair beside Neville, who taken off the cloth covering his face and was looking tired, but happy nonetheless.

"Wow, that was close," panted Ernie. No one else spoke for another few minutes as they tried to catch their breath. Ginny looked around at her three rescuers and the realization of what had just happened finally hit her; she was about to be tortured, and these three had probably just saved her and Neville's lives.

"You saved us," Ginny told them. "I can't believe it. You risked everything to save our lives. How can we ever thank you?" She ran and hugged each of them. Susan and Luna looked slightly embarrassed, as if they weren't used to this kind of gratitude, but Ernie returned the hug wholeheartedly before giving them a pompous smile.

"But of course, you saved us first, it's only common courtesy! We D.A.-ers have to stick together, you know! Think nothing of it," he said with a wave of his hand.

"How did you get our wands?" wondered Neville.

"For that, you have Luna to thank." Susan gestured to Luna, who looked around in shock. She was completely unaccustomed to being singled out like this. She smiled dreamily at Susan and Ernie before turning to Neville.

"Well, I assumed you would want them back at some point. It was quite easy, just a quick Summoning Charm while the Carrows weren't looking at dinner. You know," she added, glancing around the room, "I rather like this room. It's very warm." Luna stood up and wandered aimlessly around the room, pausing occasionally to peruse a random section of wall. She was still sporting her Bubble-Head Charm, and had appeared to have forgotten that there were other people in the room. Ginny smiled and stifled a giggle. Even after a close shave like that, Luna was still her normal self.

"So, Neville, what was with the mask?" asked Ernie.

"Well, I didn't want them to know who was attacking! Luna's Bubble-Head Charm was smarter, though."

"You attacked them?" Susan looked horrified. "They could've killed you! I thought you were just going to hold them off, maybe set off a Dungbomb or something as a distraction!"

"That's what I thought too, but when I saw their faces something just clicked in me, you know? I wanted payback for what Amycus did to me. They were so surprised that they missed cursing me at first, so I Stunned Amycus while Luna made some kind of smokescreen. I think it was the Weasley twins' Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder. Alecto made it through after a bit and she was fighting us pretty hard, so we ran for it. I almost ran smack into Ernie coming down to rescue us." Neville nodded to Ernie, who smirked. "I guess I was a bit late to the party," he admitted.

"Yeah, a bit," said Neville with a laugh. Ginny joined in, and soon everyone was laughing. Even Luna laughed, though she was too far away to have heard them talking. After everyone settled down, Ginny looked back to the fruit painting.

"Do you think it's safe to go out again?"

"No," replied Neville, "Snape told her to guard the Fat Lady. We can't go back there until Alecto settles down."

"That's okay, you can kip with us tonight," said Ernie. You can sleep in my dorm, Neville. Justin's not here, so his bed is free," he added sadly.

"We don't want to impose," said Neville quickly, but Susan cut him off.

"No, it's not a problem, really. Ginny and Luna can kip with me and the girls. I expect Hannah's gone by now."

"Hannah? But she was with you yesterday!" said Ginny, confused.

"Yeah, well, she came here secretly. She's a Muggle-born, and after that stint yesterday, we couldn't hide her anymore. She's okay, though," Susan added, as Ginny and Neville had looks of concern on their faces. "She made it to her parents' house and they're on the run, so we're in more danger than she is now."

By now, students were filing into the common room, casting curious looks at Ginny, Neville, and especially Luna, who was taking measurements of a hanging curtain with her wand. The students looked expectantly at Ernie; although his prefect status was revoked, Ernie was still deferred to and respected by Hufflepuff students. He stood up with the air of a politician giving a speech.

"These students," he said, with a regal gesture towards Ginny, Neville, and Luna, "are under fire from the Carrows. We are giving them Hufflepuff protection for now. No one is to tell a soul outside the house about their whereabouts. Understood?" Everyone nodded, while some glanced at Luna and snickered. She had wandered back to them, having giving the room a full looking-over. Still sporting the Bubble-Head Charm, she turned to Ernie and her eyes widened.

"Ooh, I'm going to stay here? I'm so excited, this place is just lovely! I haven't detected a single Wrackspurt or Blue Glumington anywhere!"


	5. Chapter 5: The Sword and the Slug Club

--------------------------------5. The Sword and the Slug (Club)-----------------------------------

Ginny and the others remained in the care of the Hufflepuffs for the next week. Ernie sent some third years to scout the Gryffindor common room and found that Crabbe and Goyle were guarding the entrance, so Ginny and Neville were effectively locked out of their own dormitories. Luna was not in any more danger, as no one knew she was involved, but she refused to leave Hufflepuff House until the other two did.

"Luna, you can go back to Ravenclaw whenever you like. You're safe!" Ginny had told her.

"Yes, I know, but I like it here," Luna replied. "Everyone is nice to me." Ginny and Neville had been telling off younger students for making fun of her, but she knew Luna too well to assume that Luna didn't know this. Ginny merely smiled and changed the subject.

Ginny and Neville decided to attend all of their lessons, including the Carrows', in the hope that nothing serious would happen to them while they were around other students. Fortunately, Alecto and Amycus decided to treat them just as horribly as everyone else. After the initial shock of seeing Amycus force students to Cruciate each other, Ginny quickly grew accustomed to the ordeal. Most students lacked the malicious desire to cause pain that was crucial for Unforgiveable Curses, so Ginny rarely felt the force of a full Cruciatus Curse, anyways. She worried about Neville, though, who shared a class with Slytherins; it was common knowledge that Crabbe and Goyle had finally gotten top marks in a class lesson.

Alecto's Muggle Studies lectures were another matter. Ginny had to blot out her lectures from her mind every day, because she had an unfortunate habit of getting very angry and blurting out retorts in class. Missing the lectures didn't matter much; Alecto liked to hear herself talk so much that she never asked questions or gave assignments. In fact, most students jokingly regarded the new Muggle Studies as a darker-themed History of Magic substitute: students wouldn't dare fall asleep, as they did in Professor Binns' class, but it was quite easy to daydream away a Muggle Studies lecture with Alecto none the wiser. The only students who didn't share this sentiment were those with Muggle-born friends now absent. On Ginny's last day in the Hufflepuff dorms, Ernie got himself a detention after he screamed some choice words in response to Alecto's analysis of upper-class Muggles.

"That prejudiced little bitch!" Ernie entered the common room, incensed. Ginny was reading "Quintessence: A Quest" on an armchair near the fire when he burst through the painting. He dropped onto an armchair next to her, but leapt back up, too angry to sit still. He started pacing around, muttering to himself.

"What's up, now? Who's the bitch?" asked Ginny, putting down the book and sitting up in her chair.

"That damn Carrow thinks she can talk about people like that…she doesn't even know Justin! She deserved worse, I should've just jinxed her right there…" Ernie seemed not to realize that other people were in the room with him.

"What happened, Ernie?" repeated Ginny, looking slightly concerned. Zacharias Smith, who had come in with Ernie, answered her.

"He, erm, lost a control a bit in Muggle Studies. She was telling us how upper-class Muggles should be imprisoned and beaten, and that hit a nerve with him, because he was so close to Justin before this Blood Status business."

"Justin Finch-Fletchley? I didn't know he had money."

"Well, it's not like he loved to run around telling everyone! Ernie took that stuff she said a bit personally, and he just exploded. Pushed his desk over and everything. He has to go to the dungeons in an hour to be punished."

Ernie had calmed down a bit and stopped pacing. The word "punished" seemed to have a significant effect on him. He slumped down on the nearest chair, looking slightly afraid. "Don't worry, everyone, I'll be okay," he said, more to himself than anyone else.

"Ernie, don't worry, we can rescue you." Ginny knelt down beside him. "I'll round up some people and get you free."

"Wait a second," interrupted Zacharias. "I don't think it's wise to just break into the Carrows' detention rooms. We could get hurt, or captured!" Ginny opened her mouth to say something to him, but Ernie stopped her.

"No, don't mind him, he's right," he told her. "We shouldn't keep risking everything like this each time someone gets in trouble. It's not worth it."

Ginny looked at him. She knew he was right, but she couldn't just let him go down to be tortured. "We should do something, though. Something big, that'll get their attention without revealing us. We need to show everyone that the rebellion is alive and well. I get the impression that students are beginning to lose hope."

Ernie nodded wisely. "I agree. But what did you have in mind?"

"I dunno, but I'll think of something."

Zacharias chimed in. "Well, I'd love to help, but I've got Quidditch tryouts. See you all later." He went to get his things. Ginny stood up suddenly. Quidditch…

"Oh damn! Quidditch!" She slapped her head. Ernie stared at her, confused. "What?" he asked.

"I'm captain of Gryffindor's Quidditch team! I totally forgot!" She pulled her captain's badge out of a pocket in her robes. The inlaid Snitch on the center gleamed in the light of the fire. "I need to hold tryouts soon, it's a wonder the team hasn't killed me already." Ernie looked at her and laughed.

"Well, would you like to stay here a bit longer then? It looks like you have more than Death eaters on your tail, now."

* * *

Ginny gingerly crept up the stairs that led to Gryffindor Tower. She had a Bubble-Head Charm on her, so that if Crabbe and Goyle were still guarding the Fat Lady she could escape without their knowledge. As she slowly turned the corner towards the portrait, she let out a sigh of relief. The way was clear. She removed the Bubble-Head Charm and walked towards the Fat Lady, who gazed at Ginny and said, "Password?" Ginny said, "_Phoenix Flames._"

"Correct," replied the Fat Lady, and she swung open to admit Ginny, who smiled to herself. Susan's dormitory was nice, but it was good to be home. She stepped into an empty common room. It was a late Friday night, so this was no surprise to Ginny: Hermione was no longer here to badger students into doing early weekend homework. She walked in and admired the red chairs, grouped in a circle around the roaring fireplace. Before going up to her bed, she scribbled out a message and posted it on the Gryffindor bulletin board. It said:

Gryffindor Quidditch tryouts  
Next Sunday, 2:00 P.M.  
Go to Ginny Weasley with any questions

As Ginny walked up to the dormitories, she thought of Harry. It had been about a month since the three left, and she tried to guess where they would go. Would they still be at Grimmauld Place? If they had ever been at Grimmauld Place, that is… Harry had never told her what they were doing, exactly, only that it was important and that it would help him defeat Voldemort. Why couldn't he just let her go with him? Ginny knew that he was always worrying too much about her. In fact, she loved that he was always thinking of her. It was nice to see what other guys were like and to do some exploring, but she always knew Harry would be the one. Guys like Michael and Dean were fun for awhile, but at the end of the day, the guy who's there for you, the guy who do anything for you, is the one you want. Ginny wondered how much Harry had thought of her in the past month. Hopefully she wasn't that easily forgettable…

She went through some of their last moments in her mind as she entered the dormitory, trying not to wake Parvati and Lavender. She recalled how cute he looked in his dress robes at the wedding, how he couldn't take his eyes off her during the ceremony, and how horrible she felt dancing with Lee Jordan in front of him, knowing that he could do nothing while disguised. Ginny thought about how she had stared at him during his birthday dinner until he blushed, right in front of her whole family, who were all busy discussing how Scrimgeour should've given Harry the sword of Godric Gryffindor, which lay in Dumbledore's office. No, she remembered, it was Snape's office now. The sword…Snape's office…_Harry's sword_…

It was as though a light bulb had gone off in Ginny's head. This was the revenge opportunity she was looking for! She could send a message to Snape and the Carrows while simultaneously getting a little surprise for Harry when he got back. She sat down on her bed and looked out the window. The light from the full moon gleamed off the lake, illuminating the grounds with a shadowy beauty. Smiling, Ginny pulled up the covers and fell asleep.

* * *

"Ooh, that sounds like a wonderful idea!" said Luna excitedly. "Harry will be so happy to get his sword back!" Luna took a sip of pumpkin juice as Neville leaned over the breakfast table to speak.

"Ginny, I know how strongly you feel about this, but there's no way we'll be able to get into the headmaster's office! This one's a bit out of our reach, I'm afraid."

Ginny glared at him. "Neville, come on! What happened to your rebellious spirit? This is a great idea, and we can pull it off!" She turned to Luna, who nodded encouragingly. "Now, are you in or not?" She had raised her voice so much in anger and excitement that other Gryffindors were looking up from their breakfasts. Seamus was closest; he slid over to the seat next to Neville and said, "pull what off?"

Neville ignored this and shook his head. He muttered, "Yeah, yeah, I'm in. You know I wouldn't leave you guys out to dry like that. I just haven't got a clue what we're going to do."

"What we're going to do about what?" repeated Seamus.

"We're stealing Headmaster Snape's sword!" cried Luna happily. Ginny turned in shock and slapped her hand over Luna's mouth.

"Luna, don't scream like that!" Ginny removed her hand. Luna nodded and said, "Yes, you're probably right. A job this important shouldn't involve everyone." Ginny looked at her. Luna had missed the point of being quiet, but she was right nonetheless: this was a job for a small team. She turned to Seamus, who was looking very confused.

"Steal Snape's sword? Snape owns a sword?" He turned from Ginny to Neville, who both nodded in unison. "Blimey…well, I'm in!"

"All right, but you're the last one, Seamus. Luna's right, we shouldn't let anyone else in on this," said Ginny. She glanced around the Great Hall. No one else was in hearing range, but a tiny little girl was walking up to her, holding some papers in her trembling hand.

"G-Ginny Weasley? Neville Longbottom? Luna L-Lovegood?" The little girl looked extremely frightened. Luna and Ginny smiled at her reassuringly.

"Don't worry, we won't bite. What is it?" said Ginny.

"I'm supposed to give you these," said the girl, looking a little more confident. She handed Ginny, Neville and Luna each a sealed envelope. "Well…bye!" The little girl turned and ran off to the Ravenclaw table. Ginny opened her envelope. Inside was an ornately scripted invitation to a party, signed by Horace Slughorn. Ginny and Neville groaned in unison, but Luna's eyes widened in excitement. Ginny was hoping that the Slug Club would have been disbanded this year, considering the circumstances. She and Neville were members last year, because they were with Harry when he fought Death Eaters at the Department of Mysteries. Luna was too, but Slughorn had conveniently ignored her; Ginny guessed that Slughorn saw Luna fighting with the Order at Hogwarts and decided to invite her as well.

"Great, something else to look forward too," said Neville with a roll of his eyes. Seamus had been glaring at Neville in jealousy of his preferential status with Slughorn, but at these words he relaxed and leaned back in his seat.

"Ooh, a party! I'm so excited!" said Luna. "We should dress alike! Harry and I went to a party last year, and we were going to dye our eyebrows – let's do that!" Neville looked horrified, but Ginny smiled reluctantly. "Er, yeah, we'll talk about that later, okay?" Luna took out a notepad and quill and began to write down ideas of what to do for the party. Ginny glanced at it and saw the words "lots of blue" and "flashing lights."

"Right then," Seamus said to no one in particular. "Let's get back to business. When do you reckon we should do it?"

"Not this week," said Ginny. "I've got to find a Quidditch team. Tryouts and Slughorn's party are this weekend, so we'll start planning next Monday."

"Yes, ma'am!" said Luna with a salute. Ginny laughed. "Luna, you don't need to do that. If anything, Neville's our leader. I'm merely our…strategist." Neville, Seamus and Luna all laughed as they got up to leave. Luna and Ginny said goodbye to Seamus and Neville as they left to go to class.


	6. Chapter 6:  The Writing on the Wall

-------------------------------------6. The Writing on the Wall--------------------------------------

Over the course of the week, all thoughts of rebellion were thrown from Ginny's mind as she prepared for the weekend. This meant, among other things, that she had to have her homework finished early, so that she could attend Slughorn's party on Saturday and conduct Quidditch tryouts on Sunday. Ginny only had four classes, two of which were taught by the Carrows, so she only had Charms and Potions essays to finish.

On Friday night, Ginny found herself finishing up an essay on Amortentia in the library. She paused for a second, remembering the scents that she sensed in the potion during the lesson: the oily smell of broom polish, the crisp, clean scent of the Burrow just after a thunderstorm, and the strong, musky texture of Harry's favorite aftershave. She closed her eyes and let out a soft sigh at the memory.

"Ahem! Sorry, am I interrupting anything?"

Ginny quickly opened her eyes and threw open a book in front of her, blushing a brilliant shade of magenta. She looked up at the smirking face of Ernie, who had sat across from her. Ginny noticed that his right eye was blackened, and a deep scar ran down his left cheek.

"Nothing, it's…nothing. You've looked better, Ernie." He smiled at her; Ginny was briefly reminded of Luna wearing a similar expression in the Department of Mysteries a few years ago with similar wounds on her face.

"Well, they don't take kindly to people like me." Ginny didn't need to ask who "they" were. "I survived, though. I need to make a good show for the younger folk, it's good for them to see people talking back once in awhile." Ernie flashed her an extremely pompous grin before standing up.

"Well, I must be off, got to go finish an essay for McGonagall. Bye now!" Ernie wandered over to the shelves with a wave. Ginny looked at the clock: it was 1:45. Her eyelids began to droop. She scrawled out a conclusion paragraph before packing up and heading back to the dormitory, where thoughts of broom polish and aftershave awaited her.

* * *

"C'mon, Ginny, I'm not meeting Luna alone! Are you ready yet?" Neville's complaining reached Ginny's ears from the common room. She was looking at herself in a full-length mirror in her dormitory, straightening her dress. It was a very pretty shade of green, in Harry's honor; she had hoped that he would've been the first one to see her in it. She stabbed her wand into her hair, which was thrown up for the occasion, and left the dormitory.

"Ooh, you look hot! The guys won't be able to take their eyes off you!" shrieked Lavender from the doorway. Ginny frowned; she didn't want guys to stare at her. She grabbed her wand out of her hair, pointed it at her face and muttered, "_Tergeo._" She tried to wipe off as much of her makeup as she could, so as to look more frumpy. It didn't seem to work very well, though, judging from Neville's face as she reached the bottom of the staircase.

"Wow, you look amazing," breathed Neville in awe. Then, remembering that she was spoken for, he hastily turned away and muttered an apology. He looked quite nice, Ginny thought, in dress robes of a deep blood red. She told him so, and he turned back to her with slightly reddened cheeks.

"Thanks, shall we go meet Luna?" Ginny nodded in agreement and they began walking to Slughorn's office. They met Luna along the way, who was clad in a startlingly bright dress that seemed to shimmer and fade between multiple colors. Ginny watched as it changed from canary yellow to an intense shade of pink with interest.

"Hello, Luna. Nice dress!" she said. After the initial shock, the effect of the dress was actually quite nice. Luna smiled. "Thanks, it took me forever to get the charm right. I could do it on yours, too!" She pointed her wand at Neville, who threw Ginny in front of him for protection.

"Way to be chivalrous, Neville," said Ginny, rolling her eyes. The three began walking again, although it took Neville a few more minutes before he stopped trying to hide behind Ginny. After Ginny pushed Neville out from behind her for the fifth time, however, Neville abruptly stopped walking. Luna, not noticing this, went on without them, skipping down the hall. Ginny, however, stopped with him.

"What is it, Neville?" she asked. Neville merely stared at the wall behind her. Turning slowly, Ginny looked at the wall. Scrawled on the old stones were a few simple sentences, written in dripping red ink:

_Damn the Carrows! Long live Harry Potter!_

Ginny stared at it in surprise. Her first thought was that it appeared to be written in blood, which disturbed her greatly. What Army member would do something like this? She had been in regular contact with most of the Gryffindors as well as Ernie's group of friends, and none of them would do anything involving their own blood. She looked at the message again; the words gleamed eerily in the candlelight.

"Um, Ginny, we should probably get out of here," said Neville nervously. He was staring down the hall at two large silhouettes walking slowly towards them. Ginny was still staring at the message, transfixed.

"Come on!" said Neville, more urgently this time. He gently grabbed her arm as the two figures approached them. Their slow, loping gaits were unmistakable now that they were in clearer view. The larger one said, "Oi! What're you two doing?"

"Let's go!" Neville firmly grabbed her around the waist and dragged her down the hall. Ginny finally snapped out of it and looked at her pursuers. Crabbe and Goyle had just seen the message and had their wands pointed at her.

"Oi, did you two do this? We won't tolerate this sort of thing!" said Crabbe. Ginny wrenched herself free from Neville's grip and sprinted down the hall. Neville, who was not in heels and a dress, quickly outstripped her, turned down the hall and ran around the corner. He yelled behind her, "I'm going for the room we _need_ to get to! Meet me there!"

Ginny kicked off her heels, feeling spells flying past her. Pulling up her dress with one hand and pulling her wand out of her hair with the other, she ran as fast as she could in the direction of Neville. She understood Neville's message; he was going to open the Room of Requirement before anyone else got wind of what was going on. Unfortunately for her, she was now alone with Crabbe and Goyle chasing her; Luna hadn't stopped with them.

"_Stupefy! Impedimenta!_" The two pursuers were not very accurate with their spellcasting, but they were catching up fast. Ginny realized that she could not outrun them, and so she stopped and turned around with a yell of, "_Incarcerous!_" Thick black ropes shot out at Crabbe, who screamed as he was engulfed and toppled over. Goyle stared stupidly at him before turning and yelling, "You'll pay for that! _Stupefy!_"

Ginny rolled out of the way with the reflexes born of a Chaser and said, "_Furnunculus!_" Goyle ran behind a suit of armor and shouted, "_Impedimenta!_" Ginny blocked it and returned with a cry of "_Petrificus Totalus!_" The spell hit home: Goyle's hands locked to his side and he fell backwards, as stiff as a board. Ginny could hear distant shouts; someone else was coming. She turned to run, but stopped; she hadn't had the foresight to hide her face, so the Carrows would know exactly who did this. Ginny had no choice: she pointed her wand at Crabbe and said very softly, "_Obliviate._" Crabbe's look of hatred immediately vanished and was replaced with a confused, dreamy gaze. Ginny whispered, "I'm sorry," before turning to Goyle and doing the same thing.

With their memories modified, she sprinted to the Room of Requirement as fast as she could. She got there without incident and saw Luna holding the door open for her. Ginny dove in as Luna shut the door behind her. "Phew, you made it," said Neville with a sigh of relief.

Ginny stood up and looked at the room. It looked like a dormitory, only smaller, with three beds. There was a painting of a deep tunnel that Ginny couldn't see the end of, as well as two large tapestries hanging from the walls: a large red one with a lion, for Gryffindor, and an equally large blue one with an eagle, for Ravenclaw. Ginny wondered how the room knew that three students had entered, representing two of the four houses.

"We should be safe for now," said Neville, sitting on a bed. "I dunno when we can leave, though, they'll know it was us."

"No, they won't," said Ginny, sitting on a second bed. "I modified Crabbe and Goyle's memories." She looked at her feet, feeling very guilty. In her opinion, using the Obliviation Charm was tantamount to an Unforgivable Curse. Luna must have sensed this, because she walked over to Ginny's bed and said, "Don't worry, Ginny. You did it for the right reasons. No one got hurt, either!"

"Yeah," Neville agreed, "but we still can't leave here for awhile. It's too suspicious."

"Oh, no," said Luna sadly, "we'll miss the party! Well, at least we have beds here in case we have to spend the night."

"Neville, how did you get this room, exactly? It's like the room knows who's in it," asked Ginny. She knew that, to open the Room of Requirement, you had to walk past it telling it what you need in exactly the right way.

"I said to myself, '_I need to get somewhere where Carrow supporters can't find us._' Then this room popped up. It looks like it was built for permanent residence, but we can't really do that yet, I think." Ginny looked up at him. Why had he used the word "yet?" Was he already resigning himself to the fact that, sooner or later, they would have to go on the run and leave Hogwarts behind?

"That's a strange portrait," said Luna suddenly. Ginny and Neville looked up at the portrait of the long, endless tunnel – or was it a painting? It looked lifelike enough, but there were no people moving through it. "I wonder why the Room put it here," Luna mused.

"I dunno. It must have had a good reason though," replied Ginny. She lay back on her bed, staring at the ceiling. Now that the prospect of a party with the Slug Club was over, Ginny had Quidditch tryouts to think about. The incident with Crabbe and Goyle barely registered with her: she was becoming so used to this new regime at Hogwarts that a random duel in the hallway didn't hold a candle to the responsibility of handling a Quidditch team.

"Are we gonna have to stay the night, you think?" asked Neville to no one in particular. He had taken off his dress robes, revealing the jeans and t-shirt he wore underneath. Ginny and Luna looked at him enviously; Ginny had lost her heels in the fight, but her dress was starting to get uncomfortably tight. She suspected that Luna felt the same way. Ginny thought absently, _I wish I had some more comfortable clothes to wear_, when suddenly, a closet door appeared in the wall on the opposite side of the room.

"Hey, clothes!" shouted Luna in delight. She ran to the closet and flung it open, revealing a rack of various robes, jeans and tops. Ginny chuckled and followed her in. Apparently, the Room of Requirement also answered requests from those already inside of it. She and Luna closed the door on Neville, who was already pointedly looking away, and looked across the racks for the most comfortable clothes she could find. After they changed and came back out, Neville repeated his earlier question. "Okay, so I guess we're spending the night here, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess so," replied Ginny. She returned to her bed, thinking back to the message. "Do either of you have any idea who could've wrote that on the wall?"

"Wrote what?" asked Luna. Neville and Ginny quickly filled her in, as she had not stopped to look at the message with them.

"Hmm," said Luna thoughtfully. "It sounds like your army is getting restless, Neville. Ginny, you're the strategist, give them something to do!" Ginny and Neville both looked at her; Luna had a knack for making astute observations. Ginny figured that Luna was probably right, as they hadn't done anything particularly rebellious lately, and some other Army member had decided to take it on themselves to do something.

"Luna's right," said Neville. "This sword-stealing thing should do a lot for morale, though. Assuming we can pull it off, I mean. Speaking of which," he said, turning to Ginny, "I've been meaning to talk to you about that. I did some thinking, and I think that it's possible."

"Really?" replied Ginny. "I haven't given it much thought yet, but I have a general idea. We'll need the password for Snape's office, obviously. We should have a good distraction, too."

"I'll get the password!" said Luna happily. "I can do a Disillusionment Charm now. Watch!" She tapped her wand to her hair, and beads of transparent liquid appeared to flow down her head. By the time they reached her feet, she was completely invisible. Ginny stared in amazement as a pillow hurled itself at her. "You can't see me! Hee hee!" Luna giggled in excitement.

"Luna, that's amazing!" said Ginny. "Could you teach us to do it?" She continued to look at the spot where Luna had been, but was startled when Luna's voice responded from right next to her on the bed.

"No, I'm sorry. It took me all summer just to learn it from daddy, and it would take me even longer than that to teach you." Ginny heard Luna tap her hair again, and drops of water appeared to slide down her face, revealing it. As the Disillusionment Charm lifted, revealing Luna sitting on Ginny's bed, Neville said, "Okay, so Luna can hide near that gargoyle and wait for Snape to say the password. How are we going to get him out of the office once he's opened the staircase, though?"

"I supposed we could have Seamus set off a Decoy Detonator," said Ginny. "I doubt that Snape himself will leave for that, though."

Luna nodded. "I agree. If only we could find a Sphironyx. They can be trained to latch onto people and unleash a vicious toothache on the victim. I thought I saw one crawling around the other day…" Neville shook his head, while Ginny rolled her eyes.

The three discussed possible methods of distraction for another hour. When Ginny began to yawn, she decided to go to sleep early in preparation for Quidditch tryouts.

"I'm sure we'll think of something," she told them. "However, I need some sleep, so we'll pick this up tomorrow, okay?"

"Yeah, how about we meet here tomorrow night? Just think, _I want to hide from Carrow supporters_, or something like that, and it'll open for you." Neville got up to turn out the light, but then turned around to face the girls. "Er, do you two want some privacy? I can put up a curtain or something, if it's weird for you to be sleeping in the same room as me," he said, blushing slightly.

Luna shook her head energetically. "No, you don't have to do anything like that. I've never had a sleepover before!" She gave Neville a wide smile before sliding under her covers. Ginny smiled reassuringly.

"Yeah, Neville, don't worry. We have no problem with you, you're trustworthy enough. Okay?" Neville gave a sheepish nod before turning out the lights. Ginny put her head against the pillow and let her thoughts float around Harry and Quidditch before finally drifting off into sleep.


	7. Chapter 7:  Quidditch Tryouts

-----------------------------------------7. Quidditch Tryouts------------------------------------------

Ginny got to the pitch right after lunch on Sunday to prepare for tryouts that afternoon. With one hand grasping a large leather crate and another holding her broomstick, a light and fast Comet Three Forty, she took the all too familiar stroll to the locker rooms. Ginny had inherited the legendary Weasley Quidditch skills that had previously benefited Charlie, Fred, George, and, to a lesser extent, Ron; the pitch was her home away from home. She couldn't help but feel relaxed once she stood at the door that led to the pitch. The first time she stood here, as reserve Seeker for Harry when Umbridge banned him from playing, she was nervous beyond belief. Who wouldn't be, with so much to live up to? Yet she had performed beyond anyone's expectations, pulling a surprise win against Hufflepuff with a brilliant capture of the Snitch. Now, nearly two years later, here she stood, captain of a team just past the peak of what was sure to be labeled a Gryffindor dynasty. She smiled as she strode through the door and down to the center of the pitch.

She had taken longer than she realized in the changing room; there was already a small crowd of people approaching the pitch. Ginny slowly pulled herself from her reverie and set down the case and broom. Flipping the latches open, she pulled up the lid and grabbed the largest of the four balls inside. It was very old, beaten, and red. Stepping on to her broomstick and kicking off, she passed the time until the rest of the hopefuls came by shooting goals by herself. Whenever she made one, she quickly pulled out her wand and summoned the Quaffle back with a cry of, "_Accio Quaffle!_" She heard a smattering of applause from the sycophants in the crowd, trying to earn favor with her.

After another ten minutes or so, she grabbed the Quaffle and flew back down to the crowd. She scanned it and saw a few familiar faces; Demelza Robins, one of last year's Chasers; Seamus Finnigan, the sole seventh-year, trying to intimidate the younger students with his age; and last years' Beaters, Jimmy Peakes and Ritchie Coote, looking small but confident.

"Hello, everyone," said Ginny with a smile. "I hope you're all well." A few students nodded; most just stared at her. "I'd like to do Chaser tryouts first. Everyone trying for Chaser, step forward, please." Well over half the students stepped forward, the great majority of them boys who simply stared at Ginny as if she were a priceless artifact on display. Ginny looked around in curiosity.

"Okay, well everyone get into groups of three, please." She paused as they slowly shuffled into groups. One boy whom Ginny had never seen before strolled up with a swagger and asked her, "who gets you, honey?"

"Excuse me?" Ginny said, her brows furrowing in anger. She was not the type of girl who put up with guys like this. "No one _gets_ me. I'm your Captain – _I _get _you._" The boy winked at her before joining two others, who both gave her shifty grins before taking to their brooms and, without a word from Ginny, flying up to one side of the pitch.

"What the hell has gotten into those idiots?" she said to herself. "If they want to be first, then fine with me. You three" - she pointed to another group of boys, Seamus among them, - "get up there with them. You'll be scrimmaging together." Seamus immediately flew away to the opposite side, but the two others walked up to her. The one on the left said, "you know, I don't know if I can keep my eyes on the Quaffle with you around to distract me."

"Yeah, me too. Maybe I can get some _private practice_ with you, if you know what I mean," said the other, before they both flew up to follow Seamus. Ginny looked up in shock – how did she attract so many morons?

Demelza walked up beside her and said, "Try to ignore them, Ginny. Once they heard about you and Harry, erm, splitting up, they couldn't wait to get out here and impress you. That one, Gerald" – she pointed to the boy who had winked at her before –"he made a bet with the rest of the fourth years that he could get a date with you before the end of tryouts." Ginny could feel her anger rising; it must have shown, because Demelza quickly added, "don't take it too hard, Ginny. It just means you're the prettiest girl here!"

Ginny was too angry to reply. She turned on Demelza and kicked off her broom so fast that her feet dug out huge clumps of grass. When she reached playing level, she threw the Quaffle to Seamus and said, "Scrimmage. Now. No talking." She blew her whistle and flew off to the side to watch, ignoring the wolf-whistles that had come from behind her.

As Ginny suspected, Seamus was the only one in the group of six with any discernible talent. While everyone else spent a lot of time flexing and posturing, Seamus weaved through them and scored three goals in quick succession. After Gerald "accidentally" opened up his robes and exposed his chest, Ginny lost it. She whipped out her wand and shrieked, "_Furnunculus!_" The six boys all screamed and dove for ground as Ginny sent a rain of curses after them. Gerald reached ground first; he jumped off his broom and sprinted away, followed closely by the rest. Ginny flew down and leapt off her broom, fuming.

"If anyone" – she swept her wand out to the rest of the startled students, sparks flying from the end of it –"does anything like that again, I'll hex every last one of you. I'm here to find a Quidditch team, not to see every idiot who wants to score me on the rebound. And for your information, Harry and I are still together! So get out, now!" The last part got Ginny a few surprised stares before a number of boys slumped away, scowling loudly. Gerald was surrounded by students, looking very upset as he dropped handfuls of coins into their greedy palms.

"Right then," she said, dropping her wand and relaxing her tone. "Sorry about that, everyone."

"Are you and Harry still together? I mean, he's got a hundred-thousand Galleon price on his head right now! Not that he isn't cute and everything, but he's a wanted man!" said Demelza, her eyes wide with shock.

Ginny looked at her appraisingly; how much could she trust her? "This isn't the time to be thinking about that," she said quickly. "Okay, back to tryouts now! Two more teams of three, into the air!" Before Ginny flew up to join them, she turned to Seamus, who had not left with the rest of his group. "You've got some skill, so stay around, 'kay?"

"Thanks, Captain! You know I would never do that to you, right? I respect you and Harry too much." Ginny nodded and grinned at him before flying up to watch the new groups. They were composed of six girls, Demelza among them, and Ginny chose Demelza and three others to stay. Ginny went through the rest of the groups and eventually she had selected ten to stay back for an additional scrimmage (Seamus was the only male).

"Okay, you all take a break for now, and I'll go find some Beaters." The ten sat down on the grass while a dozen other students walked up. Ginny told them, "all you lot have to do is hit me with a Bludger, and you're in! Ready?" Everyone looked around in surprise, wondering if she was actually serious, before Ginny kicked the crate of balls, releasing two jet-black Bludgers into the air. She flew up and cried behind her, "come on, wake up! You'll have to catch me first!" There was a scramble behind her as everyone ran to grab Beaters' bats.

Ginny laughed and did some loop-the-loops in the air. She prided herself on her ability to swerve and dodge Bludgers; these kids had their work cut out for them. Soon she was flying in and out of kids on brooms and crazed black balls, laughing loudly and taunting them.

"Come on, I can't fly around forever! Will someone please sma-" her taunt was cut off as a Bludger struck the back of her right leg. She spun around in midair, trying to regain balance, as a second Bludger missed her face by inches. Setting herself upright, Ginny raised her wand and performed two Freezing Charms on the Bludgers.

"Nice job! Who was that?" Ginny looked around and saw a tiny little girl raise her hand. Girls that size were usually timid and quiet, but this one had an air of confidence around her that completely clashed with her small frame. "What's your name?"

"Rosie, ma'am. Rosie Jones. Is your leg alright?" Her voice was unnaturally deep, but feminine. At first glance, Ginny pegged her for a second or third year, but she carried herself with such maturity that Ginny had to ask, "What year are you?"

"I'm a fifth year - I know I don't look it, though. How's your leg?" repeated Rosie.

"I've had much worse, trust me. Welcome to the team, Rose!" Ginny said with a smile. Rosie smiled back before flying down amidst clapping and cheers from the onlookers. Ginny turned to the rest of them before saying, "all right, one down, one to go. The pressure's on!" She lifted the Freezing Charms on the Bludgers and let the tryouts commence.

It took another ten minutes of erratic flying before a Bludger hit Ginny in the small of her back with the force of a bullet. The impact was so great that Ginny had the wind knocked out of her and nearly fell off. Hanging off the broom with one hand, Ginny took a few seconds to catch her breath, while the rest of the students formed a human trampoline underneath her.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. That was a hell of a hit." Turning around, dazed, Ginny found herself face-to-face with the largest, most intimidating woman she had ever seen. Ginny had to raise her broom a bit to put herself on an even level with her. Everyone else groaned and muttered before leaving the pitch, defeated. The second Beater, Taraza Underhill, joined Rosie on the sidelines. The two differed in heights by well over a foot, and they looked quite comical standing next to each other.

"Okay," said Ginny, addressing the rest of the team hopefuls, "Seeker tryouts next. How many are there?" Five students strode forward. "Alright, this is simple. Catch the Snitch, and you're Seeker!" She opened the last latch on the crate, and a walnut-sized little ball flew out, its tiny wings flapping fast in the breeze. "Watch out for the Bludgers, I haven't put them away yet. Now go to it!" She watched as the five kids scrambled after the Snitch, glancing around for the two Bludgers. Ginny didn't follow them; she didn't need to. She knew that the best Seeker would be able to outwit and outfly the rest without her watching.

Ginny walked over to the ten potential Chasers, who were all sitting on the grass. She made mental notes on those who got along well with the others and who seemed happy to be there. She saw two girls sitting alone, away from the rest, talking in angry whispers, occasionally pointing at another girl in the group: Ginny privately eliminated those two from her choices. She saw the two new Beaters, Rosie and Taraza, stroll over to the Chasers, talking to each other animatedly. Ginny was pleased that they hit it off, since Beater teamwork was essential to winning games. Hoping to herself that the Seeker would be up to scratch, Ginny flew off to watch the contest.

The kids were having a horrible time of it: the Snitch flitted in and out of their reach, constantly tempting them before zooming away just in time. Ginny thought that if Snitches could talk, this one would be laughing. Suddenly, the Snitch turned and headed straight for her. She saw everyone's eyes follow it before five brooms flew in her direction. Ginny quickly rose and dodged them, turning around just in time as two girls passed through the spot where she had been only seconds before. They flew neck-and-neck and grabbed the Snitch at the exact same time.

"Oh, damn," said Ginny in frustration. The two girls were fighting fiercely, neither letting go of the Snitch. The other three circled them, hoping that the girls would get too engrossed in bickering and drop the Snitch. Ginny raised her wand and yelled, "_Accio Snitch!_"

The Snitch flew out of the girls' hands and landed in Ginny's palm. "Well, I guess we have a tie." The two girls immediately flew up to her, yelling in loud, shrill voices.

"I caught it before she did -"

"She's lying, she was trying to steal it!"

"Nuh-uh! Besides, I'm a better flyer than you, anyways!"

"Yeah-huh! And you're awful at flying, you nearly hit me!"

"Nuh-uh! I was trying to you hit you, stupid!"

Ginny clutched her forehead. These two had annoyingly high, whiny voices that gave her a headache. "Oi! Can you shut up, please?" she shouted, but they would not stop.

"You don't just hit people, I could've been killed!"

"That's how the game works, stupid!"

"I'm not stupid, you are!"

"Idiot!"

"Moron!"

"SHUT UP!" The two girls stopped and stared at her; they had apparently forgotten that Ginny was even there. By now, everyone on the ground was laughing at them, and Ginny's headache had blossomed into a migraine. Why couldn't someone less annoying have beaten these two to the Snitch?

"You, take the Snitch." Ginny motioned to the girl on the left. She gleefully grabbed it out of Ginny's hand, while the other looked incensed.

"She didn't take it first, I did! This is so unf –"

"QUIET! You, take the Snitch from her." The girl on the left, a skinny blonde, dropped her grin and handed it to the other, a short brunette, who took it happily. Ginny, ignoring the girls completely, was focusing on the Snitch itself. She knew that Snitches were enchanted to recognize the first person to touch them, and sure enough, when the brunette grabbed the Snitch, its wings slowed and relaxed, and it began to glow faintly.

"Congratulations, you're our new Seeker," said Ginny to the very surprised brunette. The blonde, who was looking ecstatic just a few seconds ago, was now glaring daggers at Ginny. "How in the hell do you make her Seeker when it was obviously me who" - Ginny smothered both girls' mouths with her hands.

"You two just don't stop, do you? Look at the Snitch. It's reacting to her touch, and it didn't to yours. That means she touched it first. Sorry," she added to the blonde, who was still issuing muffled sounds from behind Ginny's hand. She removed her hand and the blonde immediately turned and flew away in anger. The brunette, however, flew up next to Ginny and hugged her tightly.

"Ooh, thank you thank you thank you! This is so awesome, I just knew all that training would pay off! I trained with my sister all summer and I was so scared flying around up there but I can't believe I won! Yay! Oh, my name's Kate Bronsky!" She said this all so fast that Ginny could only catch her name.

"Congratulations, Kate. Er, welcome to the team." Kate was still talking; Ginny wondered when she would stop to breathe. She didn't wait to find out, though, as Kate flew down and landed, still talking.

It seemed that the farther she got from her new Seeker, the better Ginny's headache was. Thinking that this might pose some problems during team practices, she Summoned up the Quaffle and called the ten Chaser hopefuls back into the air. Some looked visibly more nervous, while others looked very confident. The confident ones were likely to do better, Ginny thought; Demelza, Seamus and a pretty blonde girl Ginny didn't recognize fit this category.

"Okay, you lot get into trios again and we'll do a second set of scrimmages." As they flew together in scrimmage groups, Ginny suddenly realized that there would be one extra. This extra turned out to be Seamus, who was looking a bit uncomfortable surrounded by ten girls. Ginny flew over to him.

"You can scrimmage with me," she told him.

Seamus gave her a wide smile. "Sweet! Let's go first!"

As it turned out, Seamus was talented but not good enough to beat out the first scrimmage group, even with Ginny's help (they lost 40-10). Seamus, looking dejected, flew off without a word to anyone; Ginny didn't see him come back. She figured that he would complain about only having Ginny for a partner, but he said nothing. Either Seamus didn't really think he was at a disadvantage, or he was afraid of being cut from the sword-stealing operation if he picked a fight with her.

In the second scrimmage, Demelza's team handily won 60-0, causing the losing team to brandish their wands threatingly at her. Ginny was eventually forced to put a Shield Charm in between them to prevent a fight. Finally, the two winning teams faced off in a close match that was eventually ended when Demelza made a brilliant pass through the arms of two opposing Chasers to the blonde Ginny had noticed earlier, who put it in for an easy goal and got the win, 20-10.

"Nice job, everyone! You three are the winners!" They flew towards her, looking tired but pleased. Ginny, however, had her wand in her hand; she was about to send one of the three "winners" away, as Ginny herself took the third slot, and she was sure there would be some sort of complaint and/or threat made at her.

"So, I know Demelza already, but what're your names?"

"I'm Cindy Baffel!" said the pretty blonde. Up close, she reminded Ginny forcefully of Fleur: the girl seemed to make everyone else seem less attractive by comparison. She was glad that Harry wasn't here to see her, as she suddenly felt very ugly. Unfortunately for Ginny, she had flown better than the other girl, who was looking very surly.

"Betty Durner," grunted the third girl. "Don't worry, I already know you're cutting me. See ya." Without another glance at the three of them, she flew off.

"Er, okay then, bye! She was right though, you are my new Chasers! Welcome to the team!" The girls smiled at her and flew down to join their teammates. There was now only one position left to fill: Keeper. Ginny looked around for the rest of the kids waiting to tryout, but there weren't any left. Had she taken too long with the rest of the team, and bored the potential Keepers into leaving?

"Er, does anyone see the Keepers? We still need one," Ginny asked her team.

"Hi!" exclaimed a tall, thin girl Ginny hadn't seen earlier. She walked up to Ginny with her hand outstretched, who shook it hesitantly.

"Um, hi," said Ginny. "Are you the only one trying out?"

She nodded. "Well, not when we first started. I guess no one else really wanted it. I'll try out formally, though, so you can see if I'm good enough."

"Yes, that's a good idea. We'll each take some shots at you and see how you do," replied Ginny. She studied the girl as she took off for the three hoops at the end of the pitch. The girl was not unattractive, but she didn't stand out like Cindy or Kate. She had an unassuming look about her: she was the type of person you could easily notice on the street and forget.

The girl, whose name was Andrea Dawkins, turned out to be very talented, stopping all of Cindy's shots and most of Demelza's. However, she was not a top-caliber Keeper yet, as she couldn't stop a single shot from the more experienced Ginny. All the same, the fledgling captain was happy that she stayed. She got the team together for a last talk before they headed back to the common room; it had been nearly two hours, and everyone was sweaty and tired.

"All right, before I let you all go, I thought you'd like to see the team whole for the first time," said Ginny.

"This team is gonna rock!" said Kate loudly. "Girl power all the way!"

"It isn't so strange that no guys got in," quipped Andrea. "They're all deathly afraid of you, after that little spat with the idiots." Everyone laughed, even Ginny.

"We're like a minor league Holyhead Harpies here," added Taraza. "They won the league last year, you know." Ginny did know; the Harpies were her team.

"That's a good standard to set ourselves by," said Ginny. "We've got a lot of potential to show up the more experienced teams here, but we need to learn a bit more teamwork and advanced tactics. I know we've got a lot to live up to, talent-wise," – _I know I do_, she thought – "but with a few practices, we'll kick some serious ass this year!" The team cheered collectively and turned to walk back together while Ginny hung back to clean up.

After wrestling the Bludgers back into their straps, and getting several bruises on her arms, Ginny smiled to herself: She was quite happy with her new Quidditch Team. She never meant to recruit an all-female squad, but after she hexed away all of those flirty morons there wasn't much left, really. Ginny had a brief flash of her in a Harpies uniform, replacing the famous Gwenog Jones as captain and star Chaser of the team. Still smiling, she strode into the locker room.

* * *

**a/n: Hey all! I just wanted to thank everyone for reading my first story! I know it's not very good and all, but I love the support you've given. Updates will be more spaced out soon, I'm afraid, once school starts - I'll try to make them weekly. Keep on reading, and any constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!**


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